Rebuilding The Clan
by MyraValhallah
Summary: Tomboyish Miya is the ward of a Lord  Ooh have I made a Rhyme?  and, when she is dragged by her guardian to a garden party she ends up meeting a person who can lead   her to the home she was taken from as a toddler. Enjoy :  Rated for language content!
1. My Name Is Miya

**_Welcome to an experiment._**

**_This is a test to see if I can write a half-mad first person narrative._**

**_Full Summery: Set a year after the film. Tomboyish Miya is the ward of a Lord (Ooh have I made a Rhyme?) and, when she is dragged by her guardian to a garden party she ends up meeting a person who can lead her to the home she was taken from as a toddler._**

**_I know it's been done before, but still...

* * *

_**

_**My Name Is Miya **_

I hated travelling by carriage- it wasn't fair on the horses- yet there I was slumped in the box of the carriage opposite my stuffy guardian- Lord William McAllen.

"Sit up straight Amelia" Lord McAllen reprimanded in a voice which tried to say- I'm not reprimanding you- but failed miserably

"I don't know who this Amelia is" I muttered as my shoulders were pushed back against the seat of the carriage. "My name is Miya sir, pleased to make your acquaintance"

"None of your silliness dear" he took my hands and squeezed gently. "Not today please"

It was a source of true irritation for me that Lord McAllen thought himself my father- although I didn't remember my real father I knew in my heart that the man sat across from me was no more my sire than my faithful dog- Dash (full name Haberdashery) was my brother.

I scratched Dash behind his ear- since I'd rescued him from the mean boys who were tormenting him when I first saw him the two of us were inseparable. The collie was the only creature who I could vent to. Any human would think me mad- and to be frank I probably was; seventeen years old and I dressed and acted like a boy.

"Tell me again why we're doing this" I requested, wishing I had my cap- my lovely cloth cap that hid my red curls; it was hard to think straight without a hat on my head- however Lord McAllen had found it and burned it (It had taken me hours to make as well). Due to my loathing of bonnets my head was sadly bare today.

"Because" My Guardian paused to wipe away the black hairs that Dash had shed on my skirts. And another thing; my hair was bright fiery red- what was Lord McAllen thinking having me dress in this ridiculous shade. It clashed terribly.

"You're almost eighteen now Amelia" that name again, would he ever learn? "It's time you grew up and started acting like you are a proper young lady"

"But still" I protested. "Surely I'm not ready to make my debut"

"This isn't your debut dear" he sighed. "It's merely a chance for you to practice the skills you've been learning before your birthday party"

I could feel my temper fraying at his words- I wanted to be a trade's woman, not a Lady- I wanted to make my own living not be tied down to some fop who was so far up his own arse that he might as well be inside out; and only be allowed to talk to other women, keep house and raise the bairns?

Not that I didn't want to raise a family one day- but I was only young.

* * *

The event- which I had been told nothing about- turned out to be a garden party at the Ascot's Manor. Lady Ascot got on my nerves so much. The worst of the set though, was that moron Hamish- I was proud of what I'd done to his nose last Christmas when he'd lured me under a sprig of Mistletoe; I rather think I'd improved it.

"Amelia" the wicked witch of the upper classes greeted me curtly. "Hamish is waiting to dance with you; go"

Hamish wanted to dance with me? He'd have to keep waiting; I wasn't going anywhere near the slimy git.

I saw Lord Ascot on my way to a hiding place; he was talking with a girl a couple of years my senior- I paused when I heard what they were discussing.

"I can't believe she's still trying to marry Hamish off" the girl sighed, shaking her head. "No offence, Richard but I pity the poor girl who he's waiting to dance with"

"Alice" Lord Richard Ascot chuckled. "That boy of mine needs bringing down a peg or two- he's too much his mother. Maybe poor Amelia McAllen…" NOT MY NAME- I'm just Miya! "Will pull a stunt similar to the one you did last year"

I wasn't going near Hamish so there'd be no proposal. I'd find something more interesting to do with my day. Suddenly Dash went haring off after something.

Damn. I'd have to break cover to find him.

* * *

_Alice Kingsleigh had seen some strange sights in her time- but a red haired teenaged girl in a pink crinoline charged from the cover of a large bush after a collie… now that was something else._

_"Who on earth was that?" she asked_

_"That, I believe was my son's next victim" Richard replied, staring after the girl. "What an intriguing hair colour."_

_Alice had only seen that shade once before. She needed to go and talk to the girl- Amelia._

_"Excuse me Richard" she nodded to him before taking off._

* * *

Oh great, now I was being followed; all I wanted was my dog back.

"Wait!" the girl, Alice called. "I just want to talk to you!"

"Abaht whut?" I demanded in a voice which wasn't my own- it was an octive too deep and coloured by a thick Scottish brogue; I sounded, frankly demonic. "I Jehst want mah Bluddy dog back!"

"Calm down" the girl's dark brown eyes were brimming with something that I wanted to call Muchness- if that was a word. "I'm a friend. My name's Alice"

"Aye" I nodded, my voice not changing from the demonic tone I'd picked up from somewhere. "I 'eard"

"You're Amelia right?"

"Naught ye too?" I groaned. "Mah name is, always as behn an' always wehl beh Miya- M.I.Y.A; tis'nae 'ard to say is it?"

"Miya" Alice nodded. "I just want to help you- we're both a long way from home"

"You know where I come from?" I asked; glad to hear that my voice was my own again. "Can you help me get back- I don't like it here; I've been here for so long now"

"Yes" She nodded sincerely. "I promise I'll get us back where we both belong"

"Thank yeh" I smiled, the accent beginning to creep into my voiice again.

* * *

_**I know it's fairly rambly but Miya is half mad- she's going to go on about things and not make an awful lot of sense.**_

_**Please let me know what you think so far.**_

_**Fairfarren for now.**_


	2. His Name Is Hightopp

_**Thanks to Niphuria and Gene's Gal for their lovely reviews- this Chapter is for you**_

_**And now, without further ado...**_

* * *

_**His Name Is Hightopp**_

"_So how did you come to be here?" Alice asked as she led Miya through the trees towards the rabbit hole ._

"_It's been about fourteen years" Miya replied. "We were at some sort of celebration- with dancin' round the maypole and music and the like; all of a sudden there was a lot of screaming and fire- I remember Mam picking me up, running and screaming"_

_Alice who had been fairly sure of this girl's lineage at first glance was now almost certain. "Let me guess- there was a lot of flashing purple lights?"_

"_Yes" Miya's huge green eyes flashed a yellow hue. "How did yeh ken?"_

"_I've heard about that day off a very dear friend" Alice replied. "His name is Tarrant"_

"_Tarrant?" Miya echoed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"_

_There was the sound of barking; followed by an echo-y yelp as the Dog fell down the rabbit hole._

"_Dash!" Miya cried. "Alice tha's my dog"_

* * *

Alice led me up to a tree.

"Are you ready Miya?" she asked.

"Aye" I nodded, wondering what I was letting myself in for.

I have to say I was beginning to like my new accent- I could vaguely remember being spoken to in a similar accent before… well I still wasn't sure what happened fourteen years ago- but before that. When I was scared or upset I could hear Mam's singing. She'd had the finest voice I'd ever heard- all I remembered about the way she looked was that her eyes were like mine- almost too large and bright green; her hair was dark as I recall. I'd once asked Lord McAllen where Mam was but he'd just patted my head and said '_Never you mind_'

Alice held out her hand and I caught it. My fingers were longer than hers; and paler, but then I'd never met anyone paler than me.

"Tis a long way down?" I asked- concerned about Dash; I didn't want him to be hurt.

"Yes" she nodded. "Don't worry though; the fall won't hurt you"

"Fall en't whut I'm worried abaht" I confessed. "Tis the sudden stop a' the bottom tha' worries meh"

"You'll be fine- I've done this twice now and I'm none the worse for wears"

This was true. If as Alice said, she did know about my home I should trust her- of course I didn't know if she was being honest with me; but then I had only met her just a few minutes ago and she could get my name right so I didn't think that was any cause for concern after all…

"Miya!"

"Sorry!" I clamped my hands over my mouth and looked at her sheepishly; I'd been speaking out loud.

"Don't worry Miya" she touched my shoulder. "I've come to believe that all the best people are mad. I said the same thing to Tarrant last year."

There was that feeling of deja vous again. Whenever I heard her say the name Tarrant I got a picture of a young man who always wore a fancy top hat; a top hat which was far too large for my small old head.

"Alice…" I bit my lip, uncertain as for how to continue, the brogue was back. "Whut'ss 'is surname- Yer friend Tarrant I mean?"

"Hightopp" she replied casually. "Now, let's go"

We jumped.

The fall was probably the most fun I'd ever had as we fell; the wind whipped my hair and skirts out behind me. I giggled insanely, the noise mingled with Alice's involuntary screams in an odd harmony as we fell. At one point I let go of her hand and managed to end up in a reclined position, legs crossed and hands folded behind my head. It was fun- until the piano came at me…

_

* * *

Landing in a crouched position Alice looked over at the younger girl lying slumped and still on the checked floor of the round room; she didn't like the look of the gash on Miya's brow. She tore a strip off the bottom of her own skirt and wrapped it around the redhead's forhead- the blue suited her better than the pink of the dress._

_The teenager groaned in pain when Alice pulled the strip a little too tight._

"_Sorry" she murmured_

_Another groan and Miya opened her eyes- they were glazed and a sort of beige hue. "Damn piano. Who throws one of them down a rabbit hole?"_

"_Are you alright?" Alice asked._

"_Part from the headache" Miya made the mistake of nodding. "Owwie"_

"_I'm going to go for help" Alice informed her; that gash needs looking at._

"_Uh huh" Miya grunted- staring in an unfocused way at the hole they'd broken through the ceiling.

* * *

_

Holy Shukm my head was killing me- obviously not literally because of Pain. The thing about Pain is that he shows up when you're already feeling bad to let you know that you are still alive in the meanest possible way.

Absently I watched Alice put something that looked like a bottle to her lips and shrink inside her dress. A drink to make you shrink- I giggled quietly, always appreciative of a good rhyme. A minute later I heard a key turn and a door open and shut.

* * *

**_This one was quite short- I'm sorry but as a consolation the Hatter makes his first appearance in the next chapter :)_**

**_Let me kno__w what you think of this chapter_**

_**Until next time**_

_**Fairfarren all**_

**_MyraValhallah  
_**


	3. Heatwave

**_I'm not sure why this update took so long- I must apologize to those of you who have been waiting for this next chapter_**

_**Thanks to those of you who've reviewed the last chapter.**_

_**And now, allow me to present...**_

**_

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_**

_**Heatwave**_

_Alice bit the Upplekuchen that she'd taken with her from the round room- she was worried about Miya- her pale skin had started going a sickly greenish grey. She needed to find Tarrant; a member of his clan was suffering. When she was once again restored to her correct, right-proper-Alice size she was very glad of her torn dress because it was so very hot. The last time she'd known heat like this she was in China._

_The flowers were drooping- fanning themselves ineffectually with their leaves so the Champion slipped by unnoticed. It wasn't long before she reached the edge of Tugley wood. Taking a moment to catch her breath and wipe her brow Alice slipped into the darkness of the trees._

_Mercifully, it was cooler under the canopy of leaves- but not by much. Groaning the young woman set off again._

"_Chess!" she called out. "Chessur are you there? It's Alice!"_

"_The Alice?" the Cheshire Cat's opening words reminded her of the last time she'd been in this wood. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you here so soon"_

"_It's good to see you too Chess" she smiled, making his grin widen. "But I really can't make small talk right now- I need to get to the Hatter, would you escort me please?"_

"_I'll take you" he nodded evaporating, only to appear about a hundred yards ahead. "But that's the end of it- this blasted heat makes evaporating tiresome"_

_So Alice followed the grey and blue cat through Tugley wood until she heard the sound of the dying grammar phone._

"_I'll be alright from here Chess" Alice told him. "Thank you again"_

"_Don't mention it" the cat demurred. "I mean it, not a word to anyone; I do have a reputation of Slurvishness to maintain you understand"_

_Alice bit her lip to refrain from laughing at her evaporating friend as he faded from view._

_

* * *

Tarrant Hightopp, Hatter to the White Queen, sat in his normal seat at the head of the tea table fanning himself with nearest thing to hand- which, being a napkin from the table, wasn't having much luck with keeping him cool._

"_I'm sure you'd have more luck if you exchanged the napkin for a saucer or something, Hatter" a familiar voice noted._

_Looking up Tarrant saw a familiar blue clad person approaching him. Since this Frumious heat wave had begun nearly two months ago the Sun and his mind had conspired against him by making him believe that his Dream Alices were in fact Real Alices. There had been many times when the Dream Alices had been very convincing- only to be gone the next morning when he awoke._

"_Hello Alice" he lisped, not rising as he had in the past. "Won't you join me for a spot of lemonade as it is simply too hot to take tea?"_

"_That would be lovely" Dream Alice smiled, sitting in her normal seat to his immediate right. "But we must be quick- I came to you because I need your help"_

_Tarrant blinked. Dream Alices never needed his help; they came simply to spend time with him when he was alone. He looked her up and down trying to figure out what was different about this particular Alice. He had an Alice checklist in his head which he began to run through: blonde curls, check; pretty dark brown eyes, check; right proper Alice size, check; friendly Alice smile, check; Alice-blue dress, check; same disturbing lack of hat, check three uncovered Bandersnatch scars on one arm, che… hang on- uncovered scars- that wasn't right; his dream Alices all kept there scars covered with pretty blue bandages._

"_Hatter?" Alice frowned._

"_Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" he blurted_

"_I haven't the slightest idea" she replied. "Wait a moment, where are Mallymkun and the March Hare?"_

_Tarrant blinked again. His Dream Alices called his friends by the same names as he did; Mally and Thackeray. It hit him- like one of Thackeray's flying tea cups if you didn't duck- smack bang in the face. He was sat with Alice; absolutely Alice, brimming with Muchness the likes of which she hadn't even had when she was a wee little boy._

"_Are you alright Hatter?" she asked, apparently concerned by his staring at her._

"_It's you!" He declared, beaming and suddenly brimming with his desire to hug her. "You're absolutely Alice, I'd know you anywhere"_

"_Yes Hatter" she grinned. "You told me that when we met last year too"_

"_You're late" he told her. "Naughty"_

"_Can we argue about my lateness later on?" she asked. "I really need you to come back to the round room with me. There is a friend of mine lying there, injured- I can't life her"_

"_An injured friend?" he repeated rising. "We should take her to Marmoreal; the Queen will be able to help her"_

"_Thank you my friend" Alice rose too and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "We have to hurry- her head was bleeding when I left her"_

_She caught hold of his hand and practically had to drag him away from the tea table due to the addled daze that her kiss had left him in_

* * *

It hurt to think and I could barely see my hand in front of my face- it wasn't there; they were both lying as lazily as the rest of me on a cold hard but actually rather comfy floor. I really hoped that Alice came back soon because I could see nasty purple flashes and I hate purple because purple was the last thing I saw properly before Lord McAllen took Mam away from me.

"I want mah Mammy" I muttered feebly, letting my eyes close.

* * *

_**Sorry that this one is short- next time Tarrant's reaction to seeing Miya, and we see what Dash has been doing**_

_**See you then** **:)**_


	4. Camiyanna?

_**Thank you to you lovely people who reviewed the last chapter. Special thanks to Niphuria for pointing out a few silly mistakes I made in the last chapter.**_

_**And now without further ado I present chapter four...**_

* * *

_**Camiyanna?**_

_Alice and Tarrant arrived back at the round room and the former watched as her best friend pluck a long iron key from his coat pocket and insert it into the camouflaged keyhole of one of the equally camouflaged doors- he turned it once to the left the inside of the round room came into view as the door swung inwards._

_Tarrant to face her and giggled at her expression. "Really Alice, surely you didn't think that the big doors were there to make the room look pretty?"_

"_Well, why is the only key left in the room for that tiny little door?" Alice asked, she had, to be honest, been wondering that since the last time she'd been in the round room._

"_Because poor dear Mally is somewhat scatter brained when it comes to keeping track of keys- there is always a spare one kept in there for her so that she knows where to find it if she needs it" Tarrant explained putting the key back into his pocket and holding the door open with one foot. "Each of us has his, or her own door- this one is mine"_

"_I gathered that" Alice retorted childishly, though not maliciously. "But that isn't important right now"_

"_Quite right" Tarrant agreed. "There's the matter of your unfortunate friend, not that she is unfortunate to be your friend, because I count myself extremely fortunate to be your friend Alice- I simply meant that…"_

"_Hatter!" Alice called_

"_I'm fine, thank you Alice" he smiled waving her into the round room. "After you milady"

* * *

_

My eyes opened a crack when I heard the creaking noise and felt a strangely warm breeze on my face. Alice was back, but it was the help she had brought back with her that held my attention.

As I stared up at the tall red haired gentleman, he stared back down at me with an expression of shock on his pale face. His face was familiar- eyes like my own, had swirled to a strange, scary, orange colour.

"Camiyanna?" he gasped, shocked. "Nae, it cannae beh ye"

Camiyanna? Since when was my name short for something?

"Who are you?" I rasped, barely able to hear my own voice over my headache- he managed to hear it though

The orange left the man's irises in favour of a depressing, dusky blue. "Yeh… dannae remember meh?"

I didn't like the tone of his voice now- he sounded sad. I wished I could put a name to his face but nothing came of it.

"Tarrant?" Alice's voice broke in.

The feeling of deja vous returned- this time the image of the young man was clearer; a younger version the very fellow who stood over me; his hair was longer than it was now and the top hat on his head was less battered and scorched- as well as lacking the salmon coloured sash which now adorned it. Yes I could see it now. I _almost_ remembered him.

"Tar" I felt the corners of my mouth curve up in a tired but happy smile. "It's you"

Now if only I could remember just who Tar was to me…

_

* * *

Tarrant felt numb- just this morning if you suggested to him that he would soon be reunited with his baby sister he'd have giggled hysterically and said you were madder than he was. But here he was- staring down at Camiyanna's prone but still at least semiconscious form._

'That shade of pink does nothing for her, doesn't go with her hair colour at all_' he mused as he stared at her, it was a miracle that any of his thoughts could be comprehended- his Alice and now wee Miya was back, only not nearly so wee. '_She always looked smashing in dark green- no Tarrant; the colour of her dress is not important_'_

_He shook the memories of the cheeky wee bairn she had been out of his mind and scooped her up- she was beautifully warm in his arms. Warm, soft, alive and more or less completely safe. It was more than he could have hoped for._

"_Ugh" she whimpered as her head came to rest against his shoulder._

"_Tis alrigh Miya, hen, I got yeh"_

_The words came to him naturally even though it had been fourteen years since he'd last had to sooth her after she grazed her knees or had a nightmare._

_She was in a bad way and he needed to get her to Marmoreal.

* * *

_

_Alice almost had to run to keep up with Tarrant as he carried Miya like a baby in his arms back out of the round room._

_She wasn't sure what that Camiyanna stuff was all about- her new friend had been rather adamant that she would only answer to Miya.

* * *

_

_The walk to Marmoreal took till sundown. Tarrant kept stopping to mop the sweat away from Miya's brow and making sure that she was alright._

_They crested the hill which overlooked the castle and began down the path which led to the Castle walls- the last time Alice had seen this place she had been thundering towards it on the back of the Bandersnatch, Vorpal sword in hand, still convinced that this beautiful land was nothing more than a figment of her own overactive imagination._

"_Nearly there" Tarrant muttered to the seemingly unconscious girl in his arms. "Weh'll get ye help"_

_An angry growl permeated the air originating from a handsome black and white border collie who had fixed Tarrant with a vicious glower. "That's My Miya!"_

_Alice suddenly found herself fearing for Miya's safety as Tarrant growled himself, a menacing snarl. "She isnae yern, dog"_

_Alice took a hesitant step forwards and addressed the collie. "Are you Dash?"_

"_It's _Haberdashery_ to you" the Dog replied, not taking his eyes off Tarrant, or more specifically the limp figure in his arms. "Until My Miya says otherwise"_

"_Is our dear Dash making a nuisance of himself again?" a familiar voice asked as Queen Mirana stepped into view wearing a thin white summer dress which still looked regal- her white hair pulled into a low braid under a pretty straw sunhat, adorned by a large Daisy- one of Tarrant's Alice guessed._

"_Oh" The White Queen's smile slipped just a little as she saw the being in Tarrant's arms, replaced by an expression of surprise. "That cannot be little Camiyanna, can it Tarrant?"_

"_Yes your majesty" Tarrant nodded. "Alice says that she got hurt on the way down the rabbit hole"_

"_And am I to assume that the rather lovely blue silk bandage around young Camiyanna's head is the same piece of fabric missing from the bottom of your dress, Alice?"_

"_Yes your majesty" Alice nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed at appearing before Mirana in ripped attire- until she remembered that the first time they met she had been eight feet tall and dressed in some of the curtains from Salezen Grum, and smelling of Bandersnatch . "She got hit on the head by the piano in the Rabbit hole and I couldn't just let the wound bleed"_

"_Quite so" Mirana smiled. "Well, bring her inside Tarrant and we'll see if we cannot bring your sister back to you- and Alice…?"_

"_Yes your majesty?" Alice asked looking at the monarch inquiringly_

"_Welcome back my dear"_

_Mirana led the way as she glided back into Marmoreal with Alice, Tarrant, Miya and Dash the dog, who was still glaring daggers at Tarrant, following her._

_

* * *

_

**_Who knew, Miya's name is short for something!_**

_**Bet you weren't expecting Dash to be able to talk ;) More on that little development in a little while.**_

_**In the next chapter I'm going to be focusing on developing a bit of Halice**_

_**Let me know what you think of this chapter :)**_

_**Fairfarren all**_


	5. Confessions By the Sickbed

**_I'm back from the dead- really sorry for the massive delay between this chapter and the last_**

**_Thank you to all of you who've read and reviewed thus far_**

* * *

_**V: Confessions by the Sickbed**_

_Alice watched from the doorway as Tarrant sat beside the unconscious teenager- a couple of Mirana's maids had changed Miya out of the pink dress into a white silk nightdress. The gash on her head had been healed and reduced to nothing more than a small scar on her brow which was barely visible against her fiery mane._

_It was morning now and Alice was wearing a dress which Tarrant had made for her to while the Queen was treating his sister- it was a simple blue sundress which stopped just below the knee. She'd pulled her hair back into a braid._

"_How is she?" Alice asked_

"_The Queen gave her a sleeping draft; she says that she'll be fine in when she wakes" Tarrant finally tore his eyes away from Miya- Alice did not like the hue they were at present- a sort of orangey brown. The return of his little sister had obviously had quite the negative effect on him._

"_Where did yeh find 'er agin Lad?" he burred_

"_At her engagement party"_

_Immediately Alice knew that she'd said the wrong thing because Tarrant's irises became as fiery as his hair._

"_Whut dehd yeh jehst sae Alice?"_

"_I never said that you'd have a brother in law" Alice defended. "She'd been hiding in a bush with Dash; now trust me that's not the behaviour of a woman who wants to get married"_

"_She didn't want him then?" Tarrant smiled, returning his attention to his sister. "Who was this felleh?"_

"_The son of my business partner- I didn't want to marry him either"_

_Again Alice had said the wrong thing, Tarrant's head whipped round so fast that she feared that he'd get whiplash. "Whut; this man proposed teh ye too?"_

"_Last year" she admitted. "Right before I arrived on Griblik day- I've never been remotely attracted to Hamish; especially not after…"_

"_Not after what?" he asked, cocking his head curiously_

"_Not after…" she took a deep steadying breath. "Not after my first kiss"_

* * *

"Frabjous Day!" the Hatter exclaimed. "Callou! Callay!"

He burst into an enthusiastic dance of unbridled joy.

"What's he doing?" Alice asked Chess who had suddenly materialised beside her

"Futterwacken." He informed her casually

At the end of his dance, the Hatter grabbed Alice and kissed her passionately, plonking his hat atop her head as he did so.

Unnoticed by the kissing pair Mirana leaned down to the still bleeding neck to catch a drop of its blood into a vial.

"The blood of the Jabberwocky." She announced proffering the half full vial to Alice. "You have our everlasting gratitude. And for your efforts on our behalf…"

Alice took it, examining the purple liquid.

"Will this take me home?" she asked, not overly sure that she wished to go

"If that is what you wish" the Queen nodded

Alice raised the vial to her lips.

"Don't." The Hatter's voice stopped her hand

"What?"

"You could stay" he ventured and Alice could see that he wanted her to

She smiled, placing his hat back in its rightful position on her love's haywire carroty curls. "What an idea, a crazy mad wonderful one"

She looked at him and her gaze travelled to the strange and wonderful beings she'd met in this strange and wonderful place. But then, thoughts of her mother and sister and unfinished business began intrude on her fantasy.

"But I can't. There are things I have to do; questions I have to answer."

The Hatter's beautiful green eyes turn a sombre shade of blue

"I'll be back again before you know it" she promised- meaning it

The Hatter smiled at that, but it was a sad one, accompanied by his thoughts. "You won't remember me."

"Of course I will, how could I forget?"

She drank the potion, and shuddered at the taste.

The Hatter abruptly kissed her one last time.

"Fairfarren, Alice." He whispered and pressed his lips to her cheek

"Fairfarren, Tarrant." She whispered back beginning to miss him already

Somehow they managed to smile at each other as the world around Tarrant went grey and faded from view- the last thing she saw of Underland was Tarrant's eyes.

* * *

_Tarrant was staring at her, his eyes a fetching shade of hazel. His jaw had dropped, exposing the gap in his teeth._

_Gently Alice reached out and closed her love's mouth; her hand curling around his white cheek- was it her imagination or did he nuzzle into it?_

"_Would you permit me…" he asked in a quiet voice. "To kiss ye agin?"_

"_I don't really think you need to ask" Alice replied with a giggle._

_Tarrant kissed her._

"_Alice…" he hesitated. "I- I uh"_

"_Yes Tarrant?"_

"_I- think… I love ye Alice"_

* * *

_**What did you think?**_

_**More from Miya in the next chapter**_


	6. Waking in Marmoreal

_**VI: Waking In Marmoreal**_

When the fog began to lift I noticed how soft the thing I was lying on was. It was very curious because last thing I remembered was drifting off to sleep on a hard floor in a small room after being attacked by a flying piano in a rabbit hole.

I clenched my fists and found my fingers crumpling something that felt very much like satin. My bed at Lord McAllen's house had cotton clothes. (My guardian was a complete skinflint)

"Miya?" a male voice asked as something cold and wet nuzzled my face. "Miya, can you hear me?"

I groaned and moved instinctively away from the irritant.

"Miya?" the voice whined, sounding very much like Dash when he wanted something. "Miya, look at me"

Groaning again I obliged the annoying creature. It was a large black dog with a narrow white stripe up his nose and a small, cute, powder blue, cap betwixt his ears.

"Dash?"

"Miya!" he enthused licking my face, his tail going nineteen to the dozen. "Do you like my hat?"

"It makes you look very handsome" and it did, suddenly something occurred to me. "Since when do you have the ability to speak?"

"About the same time as I started seeing in colour- when I landed at the bottom of the rabbit howl" he grinned at me. "It's quite a story but I'm not allowed to tell you yet"

"Why not Dash?" I asked, reaching out to scratch his silken pelt. His brown eyes drifted closed and he harrumphed in a very content manner.

"Because some humans want to talk to you first- I might be your best friend but the Queen comes first"

"The Queen?" I asked, frowning.

"Yip, she wants us to join her and a small party for a light breakfast."

I groaned, even in this place (wherever it was) I had to be amongst boring socialites. "Alright, shall are you going to escort me?"

"After you're dressed" he chuckled. "You can't go anywhere dressed like that"

I'd been changed out of that awful pink confection and was clad in a white cotton nightgown and lying in a very monochrome room.

"What's with all teh white?" I asked, even though the décor was pleasant I'd always been a fan of colour. "Tis a wee bit borin'"

I would have expected my faithful dog to comment on the change in my accent, but no. "We're in Marmoreal- the court of the white Queen, Mirana of Underland"

I slipped out of the bed I'd been laid in and padded through the thick meadow of carpeting over to the wardrobe which was stood open next to the door. Hanging in the wardrobe was the kind of summer dress that even a tomboyish lass like myself couldn't object to. It was a simple darker green frock (linen thank goodness) with sleeves which ended at the shoulder; the neckline was modest and fell to a rough inch below the hollow of my throat. The A-line skirt fell to mid-calf. There were buttons up the side- small ones which were hidden by a fold of fabric which the tailor/seamstress had fashioned to blend in with the rest of the fabric. There was also a tartan sash-it was a very familiar tartan. It was a pity that I couldn't put my finger on where I'd seen it before. Under the frock sat a pair of soft shoes which complimented the tartan beautifully.

The clothes fit like a glove (even the shoes I noted with a giggle.)

"It's better than the thing you were wearing when they brought you here" Dash approved before affecting a silly regal air. "Now, may I escort My Lady Miya to breakfast?"

I giggled and together we walked out of the room.

* * *

_Alice sat feeling helpless as she watched Tarrant pace. She looked over at Mirana- who also sat watching the Mad Hatter pace with concern written on her pale face. After the two of them had been shooed from Miya's room the previous night, Tarrant had decided that she simply must see the gardens by moonlight; when she told him that she'd already seen them so, the previous year, he grinned at her wolfishly and, neither was sure why, had grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him._

"_Where is she?" he asked, not for the first time- but bringing her back to the present. "Shouldnae sheh 'ave woke up bah naw?"_

_All of a sudden a timid knock sounded on the door._

"_The door's open!" Mirana called. "Do come in"_

_The door crept slowly open and a familiar girl slipped through, her green eyes bordering on a wary orange-yellow; at her side was Dash, still wearing the hat which Tarrant had made for him._

"_Good morning?" Miya announced in little more than a whisper. "I'm sorry I'm late"_

* * *

I hadn't been more nervous in my entire life. Dash was throwing me in at the deep end- I lifted my hand and tapped hesitantly on the door.

"The door's open" A woman's voice called out. "Do come in"

I glanced at Dash.

"That's the Queen" he told me. "Her majesty is nice, trust me Miya"

If there was one creature in all of this that I could trust it was Dash so I opened the door a crack and we entered.

The room was a cosy parlour decorated with yet more white. The occupants of the room were all looking at me. Alice, with an encouraging smile; the other woman, who I suspected was the White queen, due to the white gown she wore, wore an expression of quiet interest; and the man, who was staggeringly familiar, was staring at me openly as if he couldn't bring himself to believe that I had walked into the room.

"Good morning?" I made it sound like a question. "I'm sorry I'm late"

"Don't be nervous my dear" the Queen smiled sweetly at me. I found myself growing to like her very much. "I am Mirana"

"Your majesty" I dropped a clumsy curtsy

"You may call me Mirana amongst present company my dear"

"Thank you" I smiled; Dash was right about her.

"I believe you know my Champion, the Lady Alice" Mirana continued with her introductions- Alice was wearing a dress of a similar style to mine but in blue- on her head was a rather beautiful matching hat; a short top hat with three blue silk flowers sewn to it.

"What a beautiful hat" I exclaimed. "It suits you so, who made it?"

"Tarrant here" Alice smiled gesturing to the man.

I turned to look at him again and my jaw dropped; I definitely knew this man- his hair was shorter and the top hat on his head somewhat singed but it was still him. The man before me had known me since my birth; how many times had he held me when Mam was too tired from looking after the others. How often had he let me wear his hat; sat me on his lap whilst taking tea with his two friends.

"It _is_ you" I beamed, wondering idly whether he'd mind me stealing his beautiful hat again. "Tarrant; my brother"

Tarrant beamed back at me; his gap-toothed smile as familiar as my own face in a looking glass. I'm not sure which of the two of us moved first; or if it really mattered to be perfectly honest; but I was suddenly in my oldest brother's arms, crying into his jacket.

"Miya" he burred in the accent. "'Ow did yeh git awae from teh Jabberwocky?"

"Jabberwocky?" I asked looking up at him curiously. "Whuss a Jabberwocky?"

"Tarrant, love" Alice's voice cut in; reminding me with a jolt that we weren't alone in the room, the Queen and Alice were watching. "She was only three on Hovrundesh day. Her remembering _you_ is a miracle"

Hovrundesh day?

"That day with all the fire an' the screamin'?" I asked shuddering. "Wus tha' Hovrundesh day? And the Jabberwocky wus the thing makin' all the purple flashes?"

"Aye" Tarrant nodded, pulling me ever closer. "When I couldnae find yeh an' Mam I though' it musta teken yer bodies"

"I wehs in Mam's arms" I told him, as he all but carried me to the breakfast table, seating me between himself and Mirana- he had Alice on his other side, she intertwined their fingers; Tarrant squeezed back. "She wehs runnin and screamin then…"

I remembered a cat with huge teal eyes appearing out of nowhere on Mam's shoulder and suddenly we were in an entirely different place. I related this tale to the rest of the party.

"Chess" Alice, Tarrant and Mirana chorused.

"'E saved yeh?" Tarrant's eyes swirled more colours than I could register. "An' teh think I blamed tha' bluddy cat fer runnin' out on yeh teh save 'is own evaporatin' hide when he got ye teh safeteh- 'ang abaht; did ye say tha' Mam wehs with yeh in Londonland?"

"I don't know" I replied. "I haven't seen her for years- she was taken away from me by the man who took us in"

"That Lord McAllen yeh mentioned, Cricket?" Tarrant asked Alice

"That's him" she and I chorused.

_Friends_, Alice had said. There was something going on betwixt my new friend and my oldest brother. I leaned in and muttered in Tarrant's ear.

"The two of us have a lot of catching up to do. Care teh share, brother?"

Here I shot a pointed look at the hand entwined with his. His cheeks flooded with colour and his eyes flashed a rather fetching shade of fuchsia which betraying his embarrassment.

"Thank you" I gave him what I thought resembled a perfectly innocent smile. "That's all I needed to know right now"

Alice and Mirana snorted as Tarrant's eyes became a more pronounced shade of fuchsia.

"Tis a'righ' brother" I grinned at him. "When I find a lad I expec' yeh'll beh teh one doin' all teh teasin'"

"She has a point love" Alice told him. "Just be thankful she hasn't lost any muchness- if she had she'd probably have allowed herself to be proposed to by the man I turned down last year"

"Tha' slurking…"

"Hatter!" Mirana cleared her throat.

"I apologise your majesty" Tarrant bowed his head and amended. "That cad wanted teh propose teh ma wee sister"

"I broke 'is nose" I announced. "He tried to kiss me under a sprig of mistletoe las' christmes an' of course I wehs gunna beh havin' non o tha' so I punched him an' ran off- o'cours I ended up bein' whipped by Lord MacAllen when 'e got is mits on me, not tha I let him yeh see…"

"Miya" Tarrant's voice disrupted my rant

"I'm fine" I squeaked suddenly finding my toes very interesting

"It's normally us doing that to him" Alice told me when the resulting laughter had ebbed.

Breakfast was a relaxed affair- far more so than any I'd shared with Lord McAllen. There was small talk, joking and a miniature food fight between Tarrant and myself.

Queen Mirana merely smiled at our antics- I decided I liked her immensely.

All too soon Tarrant drained his sixteenth cup of tea and addressed the Queen.

"If I might be excused? I have a list of hat orders as long as the Bandersnatch to…"

"Certainly Tarrant" Mirana smiled demurely. "Alice, would you walk with me?"

Alice nodded and the two of them left the room- for the first time in Time knows how long I was alone with Tarrant.

"If there's one thing I cannae stand" Tarrant began, breaking the awkward silence which had settled between us. "Tis a head that hasnae been hatted suitably- come with me Bairn an' weh'll have a Miya hat made for ye before ye can say tea"


End file.
